They are Big and they have been for almost 30 years — as big as Gloria Swanson thought she was in "Sunset Boulevard" — and even bigger in Japan. The next big thing to play The Canyon, Mr. Big will be there Friday night as our most convenient stop on their current tour. They’ve been around since 1988 or long before Agoura even had hills.

They started as one of those hard rock hair bands in El Lay but you wouldn’t know by looking at them, as they have visited a barber’s chair more than a few times since.

Never just chick magnets, Mr. Big could always play and sing better than most of their contemporaries. The boys in the band remain frontman Eric Martin, lead guitar player Paul Gilbert, bass player Billy Sheehan and drummer Pat Torpey. Mr. Big was living large as a result of their signature tune, "To Be With You," which has allowed them to travel the world. The band’s ninth album, "Defying Gravity," is due out in July.

Torpey is not just half of the rhythm section but is one of those rock rarities, a singing drummer. He’ll be one of the big reasons why Mr. Big always sounds so appealing, and he’s good enough to have recorded a couple of solo albums. Mr. T discussed the latest during a recent phoner.

Hey Bill, it’s Pat.

You called on time. You guys must always start on time.

We try.

That’s one. So how’s the Mr. Big biz? What’s the latest with you wonderful guys?

Well, we’re in Houston today. We played Dallas last night. I always love playing in Texas because there are always good crowds, good people and it’s fun. So that’s what my world’s about today: Houston, Texas.

What was it like being a rock star in an ‘80s hair band in El Lay?

What was it like? Well, a lot of blow drying and a lot of hair products. I mean, I had long hair forever to the point where it just drove me nuts.

Me, too.

Yeah, know what I mean? You grow out of it. We still get fans that say, "Man, you cut your hair — you should let it grow." And I’m like, "I don’t know if it will."

When did you guys finally go to the barber shop?

When? I had a ponytail up until about 2002 when I realized, "What’s the point of having a ponytail? It looks short anyway," so I cut it off.

So, "The Decline of Western Civilization: The Metal Years" — was that your life more or less back in those days?

Yes and no. I was just wanting to be in a band and play music. It wasn’t necessarily metal or anything — I just wanted to be a good band.

Over the years have the groupies aged with you guys or have they continuously regenerated?

Well, you know, our crowd runs the gamut – we get young people, middle-aged people and old people. I mean, we’ve been around for almost three decades, so it runs the gamut, but it’s always fun to see pretty girls out there. You never get over that, you know, even though we’re all encumbered by our own situations at home, but it’s always fun to have young, pretty girls come to your show. That never gets old.

Metal bands and hard rock bands always attract the most beautiful women. It’s a fact. We’ve all seen it.

It’s true.

What do you know now that you wish you knew then?

I dunno … you kind of stumped me on that one. I don’t really have any regrets. Most people know that I’ve had some health issues but I have taken care of myself pretty much my whole career, so I don’t have any regrets or things I would change about that. I’ve had a pretty lucky existence and charmed life, so I don’t know if I’d change anything.

Have you always been the drummer? Was that always your instrument of choice?

Yeah, pretty much. I played a little guitar and I learned how to chord but I’ve never been a guy that could play guitar in a band. Drums always had the powerful meaning to me since I was like, 8 or 9 years old.

But you have to carry all that stuff; well, at least, you used to, right?

Yeah, exactly — it’s like the drummer always has to have a van and I had one.

Were there certain drummers that inspired you?

Yeah, outside the usual guys like John Bonham, Ringo, Ginger Baker and Mitch Mitchell from Jimi Hendrix, there was a local guy that everybody knows now because he played with Ozzy — Randy Castillo. He’s from Albuquerque and we were playing the same club circuit. He had this band called the Wumblies and I saw them play and he really inspired me. ... He passed away a number of years ago (2002) but he was a real inspiration.

Tell me about that whole singing drummer thing. There are a number of famous ones, but overall, there’s not that many. Most of them are the strong, silent types. They just shut up and hit stuff.

Yeah, well, Ringo sang a little bit and I was always a closet singer ... The voice is your most important tool and I always wanted to be Paul McCartney singing-wise and then Led Zeppelin came out and then I wanted to be Robert Plant. My little sister always told me to "Shut up — you can’t sing," but I just kept at it. I wouldn’t take no for an answer.

What was the band’s big break or have you had it yet?

In a way, it was "To Be With You." We were already signed and making records but that was the one that kind of organically came out of Lincoln, Nebraska, where this DJ started playing it and went from there to 15 or 16 countries where it went to No. 1, and so that changed our lives. That was our passport to see the world so I would say, that was our biggest break.

What’s the first thing you bought that you couldn’t afford before?

Well … a decent car.

No more beater vans?

No, and I’ve had some beaters.

How did Mr. Big end up being so popular in Japan? And what’s the best beer over there?

Well, I don’t drink beer but everyone seems to like Sapporo.

Yeah, I’ve gotten in plenty of Sapporo trouble.

I know Billy likes Sapporo. Before the band was formed, Billy did a clinic tour of Japan and he already had some notoriety there through David Lee Roth and Talas, and Paul had done some clinic stuff over there as well, so there was a buzz going on about us since ’89, and so went there very early and kept going back. There was a lot of promo and we did a lot of shows and they stuck with us. They’re great fans and they’re really loyal.

Do they speak English and does that even matter?

Yeah, they do speak English. It’s kind of a requirement as a second language in their schooling. Plus, you know the old saying: If you scream English loud enough, everybody understands.

(we both laugh) Good one. What are some of the other cool places your music has taken you to? I see you’ve been to Estonia — what’s happening in the Baltic states? We don’t get much news over here about them…

Well, we’ve been so fortunate to have been to so many places. I love going to some of the places in Southeast Asia like Singapore and Hong Kong, and it’s great to go to London and to all the big cities in South America — we always get great crowds down there. There are so many great places and we’ve been so fortunate.

You’ve been to Turkey, a Muslim country — do Muslims rock?

Yeah, we went to Istanbul and we had a couple of days off and I went all over that city and it was amazing. It was one of the first cities to have a subway — underground trains — and it still operates. It’s really a wonderful place because there’s a European side and an Asian side … just amazing.

You’ve been openers and headliners — what are your thoughts on each?

You know, it’s frustrating when you’re the opener because you only get to play 35 to 45 minutes and when you’re used to playing two hours and 20 minutes, it goes by in a blink of an eye, so I was always torn. It was great opening for Rush, the Scorpions and Bryan Adams, but we love playing our own shows even in a smaller venue because we get to spread our wings and fly.

Tell me about "Defying Gravity," evidently coming out next month. Where will that one fit into your vast body of work?

Well, it’s another chapter and we’re really proud of it. We’re kind of going back to the beginning. We got Kevin Elston to produce — he was our original producer and we all love working with him. It’s always fun to have new material and "1992," one of the songs off it is on the internet which basically tells the story when "To Be With You" became a hit.

What’s the strangest gig you’ve ever played?

Well, one of the weird gigs was when we played in St. Petersburg opening for Whitesnake. It was an outdoor gig and there were beds of roses in front of the stage and they wanted to protect the roses, so the crowd was like, 75 feet away. There were armed guards holding them back — they were so far away, it was just crazy.

The roses survived a Mr. Big show?

Yes, the roses survived. We’ve had a lot of weird ones, but that one stands out.

You’re from Cleveland — is there anything particularly Midwestern about you?

I’m kind of a meat and potatoes guy. I grew up with Midwestern values that are kind of like put your nose down and keep going. That’s what I got growing up in that area. I think one of the biggest attributes I have is that I never give up. No matter what happens, I refuse to give up. If that answers your question…

Well, that was one of the first things I did and I also did a show called "Solid Gold," and what was cool about it was that I was able to call up my mom and say, "Hey, mom, check me out on 'Bandstand,'" and that made sense to her. Before that, it was "What are you doing out in Los Angeles, Pat? What are you doing with your life?" But then it was, "Oh, great — my son’s on 'Bandstand,'" so that was a mark of success to my mom.

OK, one more easy one: What advice would you give to an aspiring drummer?

Well, I always give the same advice and that is to get out and play with other people. I mean, you’ve got to work on your skills and your technique — you usually do that by yourself — but you also have to play with others in front of an audience. It’s kind of like you can’t learn to swim without a pool. It’s what it’s all about — playing in front of people and playing with other people to make music together. That’s what I tell them every time.

OK, Pat, thanks for calling at the right time, I look forward to seeing you in Agoura.

GETTING THERE

Locey's Picks
If I had a faster car, a richer girlfriend or even one with a job, here’s where I’d be lurking in the back this week:

Frankie Valli at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills (Friday)Ediola at Rock City Studios in Camarillo (Friday)Ray & the Uptown Brothers at Ric’s in Camarillo (Friday)Rob Rio at the Hong Kong Inn in Ventura (Friday)Jan Michael & the Vincents at the Star Lounge in Ventura (Friday)Alastair Greene at the Hut in Meiners Oaks (Friday)Arroyo Seco Weekend at the Rose Bowl (Saturday and Sunday)The Suicide Girls at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles (Saturday)Blind Pilot at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles (Saturday)Sarah Silverman at Largo in Los Angeles (Saturday)The Velveteen Band at Discovery Ventura (Saturday)Ventucky String Band at the Ojai Lavender Festival (Saturday)Charlie Faye & the Fayettesat the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara (Saturday)Air at Santa Barbara Bowl (Saturday)After the Smoke at the Star Lounge (Sunday)Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan at Cold Springs Tavern in Santa Barbara (Sunday)Roger Waters at Staples Center (Tuesday)Ron Gallo at the Troubadour in Los Angeles (Tuesday)Teresa Russell at Ric’s (Tuesday)Down Home Super Trio at Copa Cubano in Ventura (Tuesday)Everclear, Fastball at the Belasco in Los Angeles (Wednesday)Frank Barajas at Fresco II in Oxnard (Wednesday)Nick Cave, Cat Power at the Greek Theatre (Thursday)The Buzzcocks at the Roxy in Hollywood (Thursday)